Blurring The Divide Between Your Patio And Landscaping
Posted on: 15 March 2017
The patio is the center of your outdoor living. You cook, eat, and even entertain there. Yet the patio should feel like a transition space between the indoors and your backyard. Create a patio with a seamless transition to your yard.
Container Garden
The most obvious way to blur the lines between the patio and landscaping is with plants you bring onto the patio itself. A container garden can come in many different forms. For instance, Home and Garden TV describes a container garden of ferns and orchids that create a grotto effect. If you do a lot of cooking, an herb garden near your outdoor kitchen is a great idea.
Another option is to create a scene with your container garden. So, choose a selection of containers in a theme or color palette. Set them up in a corner, and design the garden. You need a tall, architectural plant, such as a tree or tropical plant. Choose a few plants to spill over the lip of the containers, and fill in the rest of the space with pretty flowers or foliage.
Climbing Plants
Another method for blurring the line between your patio and landscaping is with climbing plants. This is especially useful if you have a wall or other structure as part of your patio. For this, plant climbers at the base of the structure and train them up. Ivy works well. However, you could also plant for color and fragrance with honeysuckle or jasmine. If you don't have a structure, you can get the same effect with an arbor or a simple lattice. In that case, place the arbor or lattice so that it casts shade over a lounge area.
Living Screen
In that vein, you can create a living screen for parts of your patio. This can be part of a container garden or your landscaping. For this effect, you need a selection of taller plants. Bamboo is a natural for a living screen. You can also get the same effect with a vibrant shrub such as mockorange or hydrangea. Likewise, you can plant tall species of allium or ornamental grasses such as big bluestem. A living screen works well for privacy if you have close neighbors or a nearby street.
Outdoor Water Fountain
An outdoor water feature, such as a fountain, is an excellent way to set the scene for your outdoor living. You can tuck the fountain within foliage as a hidden gem, or make it the focal point of your gardening. If choosing the latter, place the fountain so it's easily visible from the patio. Likewise, ensure you can hear the pleasant sounds of the water music anywhere outside to further blur the divide between landscaping and the patio.
Create a cohesive outdoor living space with both patio and yard landscaping. To learn more, contact a company like Outdoor Living FX.
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